1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a railcar for shipping sheet material, e.g., glass sheets and/or crates and more particularly, to a railcar for shipping glass sheets that are loaded and/or unloaded from one side thereof.
2. Discussion of the Technical Problems:
As is known, under certain conditions, it is more economical to ship loose or individual glass sheets by railcar than by truck.
In general, the railcar for shipping loose or individual glass sheets includes an "A" frame mounted in the center of a flat bed railcar or in a gondola railcar. Retaining facilities maintain the glass sheets against the "A" frame in a generally vertical position.
The above type of glass shipping railcars have drawbacks. More particularly, a crane with a high boom is used to load the railcar from one side. The boom has to be high enough to lift the glass sheets over the "A" frame and the sides of the gondola railcar when loading from one side only.
The use of a crane having a high boom is not practical for unloading railcars because the glass unloaded from the railcar has to be moved into a structure. Therefore other expediencies are used to unload railcar having "A" frames. One method is to remove the glass from one side, turn the railcar around and remove the glass from the other side.
Glass can be removed from gondola railcars having an "A" frame by raising the glass above the bed of the railcar and then moving the railcar relative to the raised glass until the side of the railcar clears the raised glass sheets.
As can be appreciated each time a railcar is moved an expense is incurred. It will be advantageous therefore if a railcar is available that does not have the drawbacks of the presently available railcars.